


Not Alone

by superqueerdanvers



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Disability, Disabled Author, Disabled!Crowley, Gen, disabled!anathema, internalized ableism, mention of surgeries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-20 07:57:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20224462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superqueerdanvers/pseuds/superqueerdanvers
Summary: Crowley and Anathema are supposed to meet Aziraphale at the movies, but they can't find a parking place, and they have a heart-to-heart about disability.





	Not Alone

Crowley and Anathema were supposed to meet Aziraphale at the theatre, but the movie was about to start, and they couldn’t find a parking place. Crowley was getting desperate. “For Somebody’s sake, why are there no FUCKING parking places?”

Anathema, in the passenger seat, cleared her throat. “You could try looking a little farther away?”

“No.”

“Crowley, this is the third time around the block. We’re not going to find a spot here, and if we don’t hurry, we’re going to be—“

“Late! I know, you said that last time!” His knuckles were white on the steering wheel.

“Then why not park a little farther away, so we don’t spend the next hour driving in circles?”

Crowley clenched his jaw and turned to circle the block again.

“Fine. Don’t answer me.”

As they ended their fourth circle, Anathema asked, “Okay, seriously. Is there a reason you don’t want to park farther away?”

“Yes. I’m a demon and I’m torturing you by driving in circles until you get sick.”

Anathema rolled her eyes. “You’re avoiding the question.”

Without responding, Crowley pulled the Bentley into the fifth circle.

“I’ve had several surgeries on my feet,” Anathema said suddenly. “Major ones, like the surgeon going in and cutting and reshaping the bones. Osteotomies, I think they’re called? Something like that. And I still have to wear a special custom shoe insert. And that’s the foot that I actually have; I was born without my right foot.”

Startled, Crowley glanced over at her. She grinned. “Yeah, people can’t usually tell when I’m wearing long skirts. But I do have a prosthetic leg.”

She hiked her long skirts up above her knees to show Crowley the smooth, blue and green plaid socket covering her lower leg. “Crowley, no one drives around the same block over and over again and refuses to look for a parking place farther away without a reason. What’s going on?”

Crowley sighed. “I’m a snake. I’m not supposed to be…human-shaped.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not supposed to have arms, or legs, and my spine bends the wrong way, and my skull and teeth are all wrong, and it…hurts.”

“Is that why you don’t want to park farther away?” Anathema asked softly.

He nodded. “I just…I can’t walk that far right now.”

“Then let’s skip it. The movie started…” she checked her phone, “five minutes ago anyway. I’ll text Aziraphale and let him know what happened.”

“Wait!” Crowley yelped, visibly tensing up. “I mean, what were you going to tell him?”

“Just that we couldn’t find a parking place close enough.”

Crowley relaxed. “Oh. All right.”

Anathema frowned. “Crowley…does Aziraphale know?”

“Why? He wouldn’t understand, and it’s not like he can do anything about it. He can’t heal something that’s not an injury or illness.”

Crowley accelerated through the intersection where he had been turning.

“Well, yeah, but he can still help in other ways. I’m guessing all those long walks in Saint James Park aren’t great for you?”

He nodded reluctantly. “I can barely walk the next day.”

“There you go. Aziraphale would never intentionally hurt you, but he can’t help it if he doesn’t know what’s going on!”

“But it’s…embarrassing,” Crowley replied, coiling into himself like a snake. “I mean, everyone else is walking around fine, not needing any help—“ 

“Who gives a fuck about everyone else?” Anathema interrupted, her eyes blazing. “This isn’t about them! I’m so sick of this expectation that disabled people have to pretend to be abled all the time, even when it doesn’t affect—“

“I’m not _disabled_!” Crowley hissed.

“Okay. You don’t have to identify as disabled if you don’t want to – although, for the record, being disabled isn’t a bad thing. But don’t be afraid to use those resources – blue parking spaces, shower benches. Not that people are always great about _providing_ those resources – I once asked for a shower bench at a hotel in Quebec, and they just gave me a little stepstool! It probably wasn’t even a foot tall! And don’t even get me _started_ on the ways big corporations try to get out of accessibility!” Finally, she stopped to breathe. “Sorry, not the point. Point is, you should use accommodations if you need them.”

After a minute, Crowley replied, “But…I’m not really sure I do need them?” He paused, and Anathema looked at him. “I’m not in a wheelchair—“

“Neither am I.”

“And I can shower standing up – it’s tiring, but I can do it.”

“It’s not tiring for abled people. And just because you _can_ shower standing doesn’t mean a bench wouldn’t help. Crowley, there’s no rule about how disabled you have to be before you can get accommodations. Especially with shower benches – seriously, you can just go buy one! The parking placard is more complicated; you generally have to prove you need it —“

“—And it might be hard to convince the government that I’m in constant pain because I’m a 6000-year-old snake?”

Anathema laughed. “Well, yeah. But you could just say you have chronic pain. Or just use a miracle.”

“I’ll think about it. Oh, and is there anything you wanted to do while we wait for Aziraphale?”

She shrugged. “We could just watch something on Netflix. Have you ever seen How to Train Your Dragon?”

“No, what’s it about?”

“This Viking boy shoots down a dragon, but then they become friends. It’s one of my favorite movies!”

“Works for me.”

“Oh, and Crowley?”

He met her eyes. “Yeah?”

“If you ever want to talk about this stuff – disability, accessibility, that kind of thing – I’m here. You’re not alone.” 


End file.
